


Committing to a Better Future

by Guardian Of The Lotus (DistantStorm)



Series: Fictober 2019 [3]
Category: Destiny (Video Games)
Genre: F/M, The Red War (Destiny), the Farm
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-03
Updated: 2019-10-03
Packaged: 2020-11-22 16:17:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 454
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20877089
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DistantStorm/pseuds/Guardian%20Of%20The%20Lotus
Summary: Zavala needs someone unbiased, untethered to help the Clans survive the move back to the City. Hawthorne doesn't think she's the right person for the job. Zavala knows she is.Written for day 3 of the Fictober 2019 Challenge on Tumblr: "Now? Now you listen to me?"





	Committing to a Better Future

There has been a ridiculously slow buildup to this. So slow, in fact, that it feels like it hasn't happened yet. Almost.

He's standing at the head of the table around which they had made their plans, but this time he stands there alone. Suraya says, "You got what you wanted. I-" She shakes her head. "I don't understand. Now? We've won the war. Now you listen to me?"

He looks at her evenly, as if waiting to see if she has more to say before he begins laying the framework of his reasoning. How he always looks so serene is beyond her. 

"You told me about the clans, and I believe they are worth preserving."

"Obviously. The question is whether or not the factions will snuff them out once everyone is back inside the City."

His look is cool, impassive. Unshaken.

"You've thought about that?" She questions.

He tilts his head. "If the clans had a representative in City Government, perhaps-"

Her eyes darken. “No.”

“I haven’t suggested anything yet, Suraya.”

“I know what you’re going to suggest,” She tells him, serious. “Find someone within the clans and ask them.”

“They can’t be tied to a clan. We don’t need another faction. We need a de-facto leader. Someone non-partisan, who will make the right decisions for the people.” His eyes match each dart of her dark irises, watching the metaphorical cogs turn in her mind. She’s trying to find an argument, and he knows she won’t.

“Just because I helped you get your City back doesn’t mean I want to be a part of it. I have a life out here. People here need me.”

“People in the City need you too.” He shakes his head. “You can do both.”

“This isn’t the City.”

“I’m working on that.”

“What are you going to do, build a wall around the farmhouses?”

He spares her a short laugh. “Very funny.” He presses both palms into the table, leaning forward to level with her, “I’ve reconsidered the effectiveness of the walls. The City, it’s wherever humanity decides to settle down. Be it the City itself, or the Farm, or somewhere else.”

“That’s rather… open of you.”

“Well, I’ve had some time to consider,” Zavala says, with a strange look in his eyes. It’s as though he sees through her, it’s so intense. “You made me believe that... Believe, in humanity. The way that we’re supposed to.” He pauses, considering. “I meant what I said, Hawthorne. You’re as much a Guardian as I am.”

“That’s debatable.”

“Not in the slightest. I’m not asking you to return because I think the City is a better place to live. I’m asking you to come help me make it so.”


End file.
